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Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Founding father of the Republic of Turkey (c. 1881-1938) · Turkey · Politicians · Died at 57

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is read about 8,449 times a day, in 210 languages.

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He dismantled an empire and rebuilt it as a republic, imposing secularism, the Latin alphabet, and Western dress codes on a nation that had been an Islamic caliphate for centuries.

PoliticiansPoliticianPoliticsFoundersLiteratureTurkeyMiddle East20th Century

A life in dates

2025The anniversary of their death, on 10 November.10 November 20252008Atatürk MaskTribute10 November 2008, sculpture in Antalya, Turkey1990Atatürk MemorialTribute26 April 1990, war memorial in Wellington, New Zealand1986Atatürk International Peace PrizeNamed after him, Turkish award1981Atatürk MonumentTribute19 May 1981, monument in Ankara, Turkey1978Atatürk MemorialTribute, memorial in Amsterdam, Netherlands1965Sivas Congress and Atatürk MonumentTribute4 September 1965, monument in Sivas, Turkey1953AnıtkabirTribute10 November 1953, Atatürk's mausoleum in Ankara, Turkey1938Died10 November 19381933“Today the Soviet Union is a friend and an ally. We need this friendship. However, no one can know what will happen tomorrow.”In their words29 October 1933Speech at Çankaya Mansion (29 October 1933); also quoted in Orta(daki) Asya Ülkeleri, Mustafa Balbay, Cumhuriyet Kitapları

1927“...O Turkish child of future generations! As you see, even under these circumstances and conditions, it is your duty to save the Turkish Independence and the Republic!”In their words20 October 1927Address To Turkish Youth (20 October 1927)

1923“Our object now is to strengthen the ties that bind us to other nations.”In their words29 October 1923Speech to the press (29 October 1923), quoted in Vakur Versan, 'The Kemalist Reform of Turkish Law and Its Impact', in Jacob M. Landau

Medal of IndependenceAwardPresident of TurkeyOffice1923-19381920Chairman of the Cabinet of the Executive Ministers of TurkeyOffice1920-1921Prime Minister of TurkeyOffice1920-192119181st Class Order of the CrownAwardGallipoli StarAward19171st class, Order of the MedjidieAwardSilver Military Merit MedalAward19162nd class, Order of the MedjidieAwardBronze Military Merit MedalAwardMilitary Merit Cross III. ClassAwardOrder of Osmanieh 2nd ClassAward1915“Our life here is truly hellish. Fortunately, my soldiers are very brave and tougher than the enemy.”In their words20 July 1915Letter to Corinne Lütfü, from the Gallipoli peninsula (20 July 1915) as translated in Atatürk: The Biography of the founder of Modern

“Men, I am not ordering you to attack. I am ordering you to die. In the time that it takes us to die, other forces and commanders can come and take our place.”In their words25 April 1915Orders to the 57th Infantry Regiment during the Gallipoli campaign (25 April 1915); as quoted in Studies in Battle Command by Combat

“If you don't have ammunition, you have bayonets! FIX BAYONETS! GET DOWN!”In their words25 April 1915Instructions to his soldiers to answer an ANZAC attack on Chunuk Bair (25 April 1915)

Imtiyaz MedalAwardIron CrossAwardOrder of Osmanieh 3rd ClassAward1912Order of Osmanieh 4th ClassAward19065th class, Order of the MedjidieAward1881Born

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

The house where Atatürk was born in the Ottoman city of Salonica, now a museumThe house where Atatürk was born in the Ottoman city of Salonica, now a museumAtatürk's identity document with serial number 993 814Atatürk's identity document with serial number 993 814Mustafa Kemal on the day of graduation from the War Academy in 1905Mustafa Kemal on the day of graduation from the War Academy in 1905Mustafa Kemal (front row, second from left) with the Ottoman Turkish observers at the Picardie army manoeuvres in France, 28 September 1910Mustafa Kemal (front row, second from left) with the Ottoman Turkish observers at the Picardie army manoeuvres in France, 28 September 1910Mustafa Kemal (left) with an Ottoman military officer and Bedouin forces in Derna, Tripolitania Vilayet, 1912Mustafa Kemal (left) with an Ottoman military officer and Bedouin forces in Derna, Tripolitania Vilayet, 1912Cevat Pasha and Mustafa Kemal on the daily Tasvîr-i Efkâr dated 29 October 1915Cevat Pasha and Mustafa Kemal on the daily Tasvîr-i Efkâr dated 29 October 1915

In their own words 10

,
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. Today the Soviet Union is a friend and an ally. We need this friendship. However, no one can know what will happen tomorrow.

    Oct 29, 1933, Speech at Çankaya Mansion (29 October 1933); also quoted in Orta(daki) Asya Ülkeleri, Mustafa Balbay, Cumhuriyet Kitapları, Own words

  2. ...O Turkish child of future generations! As you see, even under these circumstances and conditions, it is your duty to save the Turkish Independence and the Republic!

    Oct 20, 1927, Address To Turkish Youth (20 October 1927), Own words

  3. Our object now is to strengthen the ties that bind us to other nations.

    Oct 29, 1923, Speech to the press (29 October 1923), quoted in Vakur Versan, 'The Kemalist Reform of Turkish Law and Its Impact', in Jacob M. Landau, Own words

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Awards

Medal of Independence1923
Gallipoli Star1918
1st Class Order of the Crown1918
Silver Military Merit Medal1917
1st class, Order of the Medjidie1917
Iron Cross, 2nd class1917
Military Merit Cross III. Class1916
Bronze Military Merit Medal1916
2nd class, Order of the Medjidie1916
Order of Osmanieh 2nd Class1916
Liakat Medal1915
Imtiyaz Medal1915
Iron Cross1915
Order of Osmanieh 3rd Class1915
Order of Osmanieh 4th Class1912
5th class, Order of the Medjidie1906
Order of Saint Alexander

Family

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Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

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About this person

Born in Ottoman Salonica around 1881, he agitated against the Sultan's autocracy and joined the Young Turks, only to be sidelined when they formed their own authoritarian regime. He made his name defending Gallipoli in World War I, then led the Turkish National Movement to victory against Greece, Armenia, France, and the UK in the War of Independence, establishing a provisional government in Ankara. The Ottoman sultanate fell in 1922; the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923. As president, he abolished the caliphate, replaced Islamic law with a secular civil code, banned the fez, introduced the Latin-based Turkish alphabet, opened thousands of schools, and granted women equal rights - all while cementing a one-party state and pursuing Turkification policies that targeted Kurds and continued persecution of Christian minorities. He died at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul on 10 November 1938, at fifty-seven.

Country
Turkey
Category
Politicians
Type
Politician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1881 to 1938 · aged 57

In common with Mustafa

Arthur Seyss-InquartBoth received Silver Military Merit MedalTadeusz Bór-KomorowskiBoth received Silver Military Merit MedalRoman OdzierzyńskiBoth received Silver Military Merit Medal

Politicians from Turkey 3

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan88.9Suleiman the Magnificent77.8Ekrem İmamoğlu75.8

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